Urgent Care :: Turtle keeps leaving one eye closed

[ihv215jl]

My turtle is 4 inches and I have had it for a month. Water temp is kept at a temp of 70 without using a water heater. There is about 6 inches of water in the tank so they can just get their heads outa the water. Use water conditioner and filter. Bask in the light given to me when I bought the kit and the platform is a rock on a incline that is very easy for them to get in. I feed them the pellets once a day and usually a few shrimp. THey ate today. I have a 20 gallon tank right now but im looking for a 120. The tank is near a window that stays covered with a shade most of the day. There really isnt a lot of activity around the tank other then myself and gf maybe a few people going in to look at them. Just wondering if there could be something really wrong with his eye. I saw today that he was doing it with the other eye. The strange thing is that the other one is fine. Any help would be much appreciated

Jeff

[marisa]

I remember my RES briefly did something similar when got him as a hatchling, and I had no idea why (he didn't do it for long).

Has the turtle been doing this since you got him or has this behavior started more recently?

Just curious, but what kind of light came with the kit? Is there both a UVB light and heat source to bask under?

You initially referred to your turtle in the singular, but later mention "them"---how many turtles are in that 20-gallon tank? How often is it cleaned and water changed? A 4-inch turtle will foul a 20-gallon tank fairly quickly, especially with a rather low water level (and one turtle of that size is in a tank that's way too small, but I'm sure you already know that). If the water isn't being kept clean, perhaps it's acting as an irritant. Does the turtle rub at the closed eye at all?

OT, but you might want to do some reading on what and how much to feed. A 4-inch turtle (RES?) doesn't need to be given pellets daily along with a few shrimp.

Keep looking for that bigger tank.

[ihv215jl]

There is two of them in there. The guy at the pet store said it was fine but I didnt think so. I have been changing it every two weeks but have decided to do it every week now. He started doing it the past couple days. IT came with both the basking like and uvb light. I actually am picking up a 120 gallon tank tom. The turtle seems to ignore it for the most part. And its only one of them that is doing it. I looked a min ago and it is fine now. SO im not sure what is going on.

[gwennie]

If it's only one eye, it's possible it's an infection...or even a scratch that could be irritating the eye - if it was both I'd think it was more a vitamin deficiency, or serious RI symptoms.

Is it swollen/puffy? Pink? Does your turtle have any other symptoms of RI? Wheezing, mucus, gaping?

Is the turtle w/the eye problem male or female? I've heard of males scratching themselves in the eyes before with their long claws.

[bradmeisel]

i bet it has to do with the dirty water. Fill the tank 3/4 way. Change the water as often as you can. Turtles make quite a mess. Good luck.

[jay2487]

I agree with Brad, it is probably dirty water and you could give them more room by getting a floating basking dock and raising the water level. They are natural swimmers so it is better to give them as much water as possible without the chance to escape. I would fill that 20 to about 3to 5 inches from the top depending on the size of the turtles.